Love Poems
by MerMagicAnaLily
Summary: Kai never told anyone, but he absolutely loves writing. When he went to the Northern Air Temple, he would take papers and ink from Tenzin's study to write as a way of conveying his feelings. Naturally, when Jinora discovers a huge stash of poems and love stories dedicated to her, she can't even look Kai in the eyes without blushing. Slight book 3 spoilers


Love Poems

It was one of the many things his mother taught him before she died. Never stay still, never purposefully hurt anyone or anything, and, most importantly, she taught him how to read and write. Since then, he always loved storytelling and poetry.

The day his mother, his only family that he acknowledged, was killed, he took the book 2,001 Poems of Life and ran. He had been running since he was five.

He wasn't a great of a reader as Jinora, she had a better vocabulary than him and does teach him a few things, but she doesn't know about the ten blank pages at the front and back of the poetry book that are no longer blank. They were filled with poems and stories of his time on the run. As he continued, he would steal papers and books to which he'd read and write in the blank pages and the margins. Even now, he'd sneak into Tenzin's study and steal pens and paper and continue writing. But now, the subject matter changed from his life on the run to the freshly tattooed girl who changed his klepto ways. She never knew about the poems, until that fateful day.

"Jinora," Tenzin called upon his eldest daughter, and the only other airbending master. She quickly scooted over to her father.

"Something wrong dad?"

"Yes, I fear that someone has been breaking in and stealing from my study."

"Dad? Are you indirectly accusing Kai?"

Tenzin sighed and his body slumped. "Jinora, I am grateful that Kai is here. He is a wonderful student and is improving on his kleptomania. Not to mention that he did, in fact, save me when the Red Lotus captured you…"

"And taught me the trick he made up that allowed me to get the keys from the guards…"

"Yes, of course. But his history is not in his favour. Which is I'm asking for you to simply see if ti is him. If it is, just explain that stealing is wrong and whatever he needs from my office, I will gladly provide him with. Within reason, of course. Will you do that for me, Jinora?"

"Yes dad."

It felt wrong, sneaking into Kai's room. She was only going to do a quick scan, make sure nothing was Tenzin's stolen property, and leave. She opened the closet, nothing but the standard issue air nomad robes, just like the ones her grandfather would wear on his travels with GramGram, Great Uncle Sokka, Master Toph, and Lord Zuko.

Then she moved to the trunk at the base of his bed. One winter cloak and a few personal belongings. She was about to close the trunk, when something caught her eye. A blue leatherbound book with a golden title, 2,001 Poems of Life, and Kai's name hastily scratched in black ink below the title. She picked up the book carefully. She never knew liked poetry. She flipped to the middle and read a dog eared poem.

_Thoughts in the Silent Night by Li Bai_

_Beside my bed in a pool of light - _

_is it hoarfrost on the ground_

_I lift my eyes and see the moon,_

_I bend my head and think of home._

Jinora looked at the last word. Home was circled and underlined. In blue ink, Kai's handwriting added on _What is home?_

Then in black ink, he continued on underneath the poem.

_Home is waking up at dawn_

_and meditating on a mountain top._

_Home is a stern father figure_

_turning red in the face as he _

_yelled, mostly at me._

_Home is a small boy_

_the general of a pacifist nation._

_Home is a young girl_

_to whom any form of punctuation is not in her grammatical structure._

_Home is a band of brothers and sisters_

_learning an art_

_replenishing a culture._

_Home is her._

_Chestnut brown hair and chocolate eyes_

_an easy smile and a jingling laugh._

_Stars in her eyes and a pink flush in her cheeks_

_a book in her hand._

_Am I a fool or insane_

_for wishing I was that book?_

_The envy I feel towards those paperbound words?_

_Yet I am a coward,_

_My words are hidden from home._

Jinora's face flushed bright pink. Kai wrote poetry? And his poetry was amazing, and about her? She flipped to the back page, where it used to be blank, but now was covered in black ink.

_Her gaze into a book_

_could it be a more lovely sight?_

_the happy sigh that leaves her lips_

_or the single tear that escapes her eye._

_Magnificent girl so moved_

_by a character on a page._

_Would she react the same to mine?_

_If I weren't so scared._

_She tucks back a brown stray hair_

_and I can't get her out of my sight._

_The single bun on her head_

_the effortless beauty in the sunlight._

Jinora deflated. He only thought she was pretty with her hair. She touched her shaved head, feeling the hair that was growing back prickling her fingers. He probably didn't think she was pretty anymore. She reached over and went to put the book back when red leather caught her eye. She pulled off the cloak from the trunk and was amazed at what she saw. Books.

She had a lot more books in her own room, he only had fifteen or twenty, but this was Kai. None of the books were her father's or from the library, meaning that all of them must have been stolen, since he didn't have any money and they never went to a bookstore. This meant he always carried around twenty books around Ba Sing Se in a backpack. She picked up a random book and quickly flipped through it. His scrawled writing was on each and every page, in the margins, and in each open space.

_Oh the woes of a traveler_

_to sleep in the trash_

_and dawn early rise_

_on the run again._

_Everytime I close my eyes,_

_I see it bright as day. _

_That fire, fire, burning fire_

_It took my mom away._

Jinora gasped. She never knew that his mother died by fire. She dug through the trunk more and found some of her father's stationary. So he was the thief. She picked up one sheet, but this one wasn't a poem, just his writing.

_Everytime I close my eyes, I see it. I know who the culprit is and I get sick to my stomach everytime I think about how he's walking down the street a free man._

_Born a non-bender to two of the world's highest elite benders, I'm a disgrace in their eyes. No, not theirs, his. The man who I am forced to call father abandoned me, left my mother and me alone for the first five years of my life. If only it had stayed that way._

_Triads. The coward of a man send a triad after us. Called me a bastard, I didn't deserve to live. The firebender's flame was meant for me. It was meant to be the last thing I ever saw. In a way, it was. _

_My mother went in front, sacrificing herself for me. It was the last thing my innocent eyes ever saw._

_Would she still have done it, if she knew that her son would turn out to be a lousy, petty thief, who even has to steal papers to preserve her memory? _

Jinora had tears welling up in her eyes. She never knew.

She heard the door open and her head snapped up in shock, but Kai's face almost looked like pure fear.

"Kai! I...I.."

"Why are you here?"

"Dad thought you were stealing, so he asked me to see if you were," she held up her father's stationary.

"Oh, great. Now he probably-"

"Is offering you whatever you were stealing. Any books, pens, paper," she interrupted. "Kai, these poems are beautiful, and this...Kai, I had no idea."

"Not like I was too much into sharing," Kai mumbled.

"Still Kai." Jinora pulled up her hood a bit more self-consciously, hiding her bald head.

"What are you doing?" Kai asked, referring to the gesture.

"It's..just..I'm not pretty anymore."

"What? Jinora, of course you are!"

"I read your poems Kai. I know you don't think so anymore. you liked my hair."

He smiled lightly and went over to the trunk pulling out a neatly folded piece of stationary. Her name was neatly printed on the front. "I guess you never got to this one. I was working up the courage to give it to you. I guess now's a good time." Jinora carefully opened the paper and began reading.

_I thought that this creature was lovely before:_

_Twinkling brown eyes, as if Avatar Aang himself_

_took the stars from the azure sky_

_and crafted them to the face that took my breath._

_With a honey-oak frame of hair._

_Now she has transformed like the butterfly she is_

_and somehow turned more radiant._

_The hair is gone, but the marks of wisdom replaces it._

_Her external beauty shines, with the sunset creating a halo._

_But the inner beauty has blossomed and wisdom shines through_

_Permanently marked on her flawless skin_

_announced to the world._

Jinora's eyes teared up. "Did I offend you?" Kai asked worried.

"No Kai...thank you." She quickly pecked his lips and ran off.

The next day, Kai woke up to find several stacks of green stationary, two letterbound, blank notebooks, and a pen with his name engraved on it waiting outside his door with a small note.

-From your Home.


End file.
